Hemant Soren, the chief minister of Jharkhand, has been requested by the Enforcement Directorate to testify in a case involving illicit mining. Soren must appear before the primary investigative team on tomorrow, November 3.Soren’s assistant Pankaj Mishra has already been arrested by the ED. On July 8, the investigation agency also carried out 18 raids at Jharkhand locations with ties to Pankaj Mishra and his associates.
In a case it filed against Mishra and others in March, the ED charged that they had broken the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by “illegally taking or acquiring large assets in his favour.”
After then, searches were carried out. It has been proven that the accused Pankaj Mishra purchased 42 crore rupees worth of income that was obtained illegally. In Sahebganj and the surrounding districts, illegal mining operations and inland ferry services are allegedly under the authority of Pankaj Mishra, a prominent politician who serves as Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s agent.
A money laundering inquiry was opened by the ED as a result of a FIR filed against Pankaj Mishra and others. Later, a number of FIRs involving illicit mining that were filed under the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Arms Act were also included in the list of scheduled offences.
The ED conducted 47 searches across India as part of the investigation on various dates, yielding the confiscation of incriminating documents, two AK-47 assault rifles, and cash worth Rs 5.34 crore. Bank balances worth Rs 13.32 crore were also frozen, along with an inland vessel called MV Infralink-III, five stone crushers, and two Hyva trucks.